New Motion Filed In Adnan Syed Case

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Tuesday, March 1, 2016
WBAL-TV 11

Credit: Patrick Semansky/AP

Defense attorneys for Adnan Syed have filed a new motion in court, centering on the role of a previous defense attorney in the case.

The motion to supplement the record was filed Tuesday and included two letters as exhibits -- one from prosecutors and the other from University of Maryland School of Law professor Michael Millemann, who briefly represented Syed in 1999.

During Syed's post-conviction hearing, prosecutors argued that Millemann was part of an initial defense team that made a strategic decision not to contact the alibi witness Asia McClain. In the latest motion, a three-page letter by Millemann, entered as exhibit 2, said that is untrue.

"Mr. Millemann has asked the state to share with the Court that he represented Mr. Syed only in the limited context of the state's motion to disqualify Ms. (Cristina) Gutierrez, which was filed in May 1999, and was argued in July 1999. Mr. Millemann opposed the state's motion and successfully convinced the court to allow Mr. Syed to keep Ms. Gutierrez as his attorney. He wished for us to relay to the court the narrow scope of his involvement."

Millemann's letter to Welch on Feb. 25, further clarified his limited role in the case.

"I was retained by Mr. Syed's family after Ms. Gutierrez entered the case and solely for the purpose of responding to the state's motion to disqualify her as counsel, and accordingly I entered my appearance after Ms. Gutierrez entered hers."

The defense said, "Both letters should be made part of the record because they correct factual representations made at the hearing that are relevant and material to issues raised in the post-conviction proceeding, and this court has an inherent interest in getting to the truth of the matter."

Defense lawyer Justin Brown argued during the post-conviction hearing on Feb. 9 that evidence brought to light by the "Serial" podcast and presented in court proves Syed had an unfair trial after the 1999 strangling death of Hae Min Lee.

Brown cited numerous issues raised by the podcast, such as a key alibi witness who was never called and some cellphone data misrepresented as reliably linking his client to the crime scene.

There is no word yet on when Welch will hand down a ruling on the case.